Baby "helpers"

I plan on having my mom come stay with DH and I the first couple days home from the hospital. Just as an extra set of hands to help when we have no idea what's going on. I'm thinking just 2 or 3 days though,...if you're having someone come stay to help, how long are you allowing them or wanting the help for?

Comments (10)

My mother is planning on coming the 22nd of March (my EDD is the 23rd) so she will either be early, late, or right on time. She is staying until April 2nd, but that's because we are in Texas and both of our families are in Tennessee. My mother in law is planning on coming sometime after my mother leaves, but I imagine she will only be staying like 5-7 days.

Normally I wouldn't want two houseguests so close together, or for my MIL to stay for so long, but my husband is a PhD student and so he is still going to be going to school/work, so I will be grateful for the company/help.

The hospital will keep me and husband for two nights in a hotel wing, so we will have nurses and midwives to help with breast feeding, first bath and all that. It's an awesome start they offer first time moms (second time around you're out within hours if all is normal :) )

Since we have tracked back home to Denmark for birth, we will have my parents next door - as my MIl for a week or so too, but I have been quite specific about NOT wanting space. So they will keep their distance and let me and hubby establish our own routines... Or at least, that's the plan.. How well it will be executed is remain to be seen ;)

I think the key is to accept the help you need - but also make sure that you and your S/O also get YOUR time with baby.
Not being afraid to ask for time alone is important I think!

My mom will be flying over from Europe when baby is about 5-6 days. I have a feeling we want a little bonding time before she arrives. ;-)
She'll be staying for 2 weeks cause hubby will probably only be able to take a few days off.
I assume my MIL will also be visiting quite a bit. They live 35 mins away from us. It's my mom's first grandchild and my inlaws' 4th but it's the first boy, so I'm sure he'll get plenty of attention. :-)

My MIL offered to come stay and help out for a few days when my DH has to go back to work. She said she can help with running errands, cooking/cleaning and letting me sleep if I need a break. She said she'd go over and spend time at our aunt and uncles house nearby so we can have our evenings alone with baby, which I thought was considerate!

My DH is getting a few days off work after the baby is born. I want some alone time with DH, LO and me for bonding. Not sure if I feel the same after the birth - we'll see. My parents will come over from Germany 6 weeks after the EDD date. His parents want to come sometime in between the birth and before my parents arrive. I have no idea how long they want to stay but I think less than a week. It is the first grandchild on both sides.

My parents will stay at our house but they have a friend close by. Worst case scenario: if I can't tolerate them 24/7, they will they with him. My IL's will stay at a hotel. I really love them but their visits are exhausting for me. So staying for them at our house while getting to know how to care for a NB isn't the smartest idea. Yes, they can stay during the day and help but I need some alone time w/ baby and DH to function probably.

Maybe get a list ready of stuff that needs to be done. So the helpers feel they have something to do and do not have to ask every few minutes on what to do.

We will stay in the hospital for the full 3 days to get help with a ton of the firsts. Dh is planning on taking 2 weeks off to stay home with me and LO, and will probably continue to do half days (working from home) for a few more weeks after.

As for family, both our families stress me out so if they do come to "help" it will only be for the day and we are asking them to give us a few days alone with LO first. Both sides are uber opinionated and I know they will try to take over instead of letting DH and I practice our own parenting/nurturing styles.

That's the plan anyways... but my MIL normally has her own agenda, so we'll see. ha!

my mother is the onlyone that can come help but we have not ordered tickets yet (shes in the states and i'm in denmark). We are talking about her coming over from 2 weeks to a month after my due date - and then staying as long as i want... she i know was a big help for my sibblings but my dad needs her too (hes just getting better from his cancer treatement). I feel kinda selfish taking her away from him but i know she will be a great help and was for my sister...